Photobiological hydrogen production and artificial photosynthesis for clean energy: from bio to nanotechnologies

Nath, Krishna G.; Najafpour, Mohammad Mahdi; Voloshin, Roman A.; Balaghi, S. Esmael; Tyystjärvi, Esa; Timilsina, Rupak; Eaton‐Rye, Julian J.; Tomo, Tatsuya; Nam, Hong Gil; Nishihara, Hiroshi; Ramakrishna, Seeram; Shen, Jian Ren; Allakhverdiev, Suleyman I.

doi:10.1007/s11120-015-0139-4

Cited by 33 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Developing clean, low-cost, and renewable fuel sources is a key requirement for meeting the energy demands of a quickly growing population. , Survival of life on earth depends upon the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy by biological photosynthesis. , A long-standing challenge has been the development of artificial electrostatic photosynthetic systems that can mimic the biological . Splitting water photocatalytically to produce hydrogen and oxygen is a highly desirable and promising approach to achieving sustainable development .…”

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confidence: 99%

Enabling Efficient Charge Separation for Optoelectronic Conversion via an Energy-Dependent Z-Scheme n-Semiconductor–Metal–p-Semiconductor Schottky Heterojunction

Eshete

Sharman

et al. 2020

J. Phys. Chem. Lett.

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Achieving good charge separation while maintaining energetic electronic states in heterostructures is a challenge in designing efficient photocatalyst materials. Using first-principles calculations, we propose a Z-scheme Sn–m–Sp (n-semiconductor–metal–p-semiconductor) heterojunction as a viable avenue for achieving broad-spectrum sunlight absorption and, importantly, energy-dependent charge separation. As a proof-of-concept investigation, we investigated two ternary heterostructures, CdS–Au–PdO and SnO2–W–Ag2O, in which the electronic Fermi levels line up by virtue of the presence of an intermediate metal layer. A cascade of work functions in the relative order W n < W m < W p drives electrons flowing from Sn to m and from m to Sp. The inner electric fields established at the Sn–m and m–Sp Schottky junctions selectively guide low-energy photoexcited electrons from Sn (CdS/SnO2) and low-energy holes from Sp (PdO/Ag2O) to the interposing Au or W metal, respectively. Importantly, relatively low Schottky barriers enforce charge separation by constraining high-energy photogenerated charges to the individual semiconductor layers. Operating together, these two mechanisms enable the achievement of highly efficient optoelectronic conversion.

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confidence: 99%

Enabling Efficient Charge Separation for Optoelectronic Conversion via an Energy-Dependent Z-Scheme n-Semiconductor–Metal–p-Semiconductor Schottky Heterojunction

Eshete

Sharman

et al. 2020

J. Phys. Chem. Lett.

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“…[1][2][3] Its elegance, high efficiency, and adaptability is the result of millions of years of evolution. [1][2][3] Its elegance, high efficiency, and adaptability is the result of millions of years of evolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The photosynthetic apparatus of plants and bacteria is a highly evolved nanostructure enabling the high efficiency conversion of light energy to chemical bond energy. [1][2][3] Its elegance, high efficiency, and adaptability is the result of millions of years of evolution. 1,4,5 This interminable period of refinement has led to the quantum yield of charge separation in both photosystem 1 (PSI) and photosystem 2 (PSII) reaction centers to approach unity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of osmolytes on the stability of thylakoid‐based dye‐sensitized solar cells

et al. 2019

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Summary In recent years, there has been considerable interest in incorporating naturally occurring components of the photosynthetic apparatus into man‐made solar cells, because of the high quantum efficiency of photosynthetic reaction centers. One hurdle to overcome regarding the use of native membranes in these devices is their limited lifespans. In this study, we used stabilizers to increase the long‐term viability of biomolecules in vitro, thereby alleviating this challenge. In this regard, it is known that osmolytes, such as glycine betaine (GB) and sucrose, preserve photosynthetic activity in isolated photosystems. Upon investigation of the thermal protection properties of GB and sucrose in thylakoid‐based dye‐sensitized solar cells, we report that the addition of GB and sucrose to the thylakoid photosensitizer maintains nonzero photocurrent in the thylakoid‐based solar cell upon heating to 50°C. At 50°C, the GB‐containing cell displayed about a fourfold increase in photocurrent than the control cell, in which the photocurrent was decreased to nearly zero. The addition of 0.5M and 1M sucrose has respectively caused nearly 40% and 70% increases in photoinduced electron transfer activity over the control at 35°С. Similarly, though to a lesser extent, 1M GB caused an approximate 40% increase in electron transfer activity as well. Moving forward, this approach will be extended to alternative membrane protein isolation strategies, allowing for an accurate comparison with traditional detergent‐isolated complexes, with the ultimate goal of developing a cost‐effective and sustainable solar cell.

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“…The natural photosystems have evolved to unique scaffolds that efficiently handle complex photosynthesis processes such as light harvesting and charge collection. These biological structures have been investigated as versatile templates for the assembly of photocatalysta . A tree-like structure with “stems” and “branches” was constructed using conductive Al-doped ZnO, which is used as conductive scaffolds for efficient electron collection.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…These biological structures have been investigated as versatile templates for the assembly of photocatalysta. 26 A tree-like structure with "stems" and "branches" was constructed using conductive Al-doped ZnO, 27 which is used as conductive scaffolds for efficient electron collection.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Place in the Sun for Artificial Photosynthesis?

2016

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Artificial photosynthesis enables the possibility of generating clean, sustainable, and large-scale energy resources through water splitting and renewable chemical fuel syntheses. With several decades of research, the scientific community still encounters great academic and technological challenges to efficiently generate hydrogen from water with sunlight at large scale and low cost. Recent developments based on novel system designs have led to significant advances in the fundamental understanding of light-induced charge dynamics and related interfacial chemical reactions and efficiencies. This Review provides a thorough overview of the very recent progress in new materials and photoelectrochemical system designs, surface engineering strategies, and efficient new cocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) as well as advanced spectroscopic studies related to photogenerated charge dynamics and interfacial electronic structure. A focus is given on newly developed strategies to improve the rate-determining steps, as well as emerging approaches for surface modifications, surface reaction dynamics, and optimal device structure design from a charge transfer viewpoint. Finally, a promising new system is being proposed and described, derived from the overall understanding, mechanisms, and concepts reported in the literature for efficient and stable water-splitting systems.

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Photobiological hydrogen production and artificial photosynthesis for clean energy: from bio to nanotechnologies

Cited by 33 publications

References 64 publications

Enabling Efficient Charge Separation for Optoelectronic Conversion via an Energy-Dependent Z-Scheme n-Semiconductor–Metal–p-Semiconductor Schottky Heterojunction

Enabling Efficient Charge Separation for Optoelectronic Conversion via an Energy-Dependent Z-Scheme n-Semiconductor–Metal–p-Semiconductor Schottky Heterojunction

Influence of osmolytes on the stability of thylakoid‐based dye‐sensitized solar cells

A Place in the Sun for Artificial Photosynthesis?

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